


Take My Hand

by starlighttrash



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Acrobat Dancer Yoon Sanha, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Dance, Ballet Dancer Moonbin, Ballet Dancer Park Minhyuk, Contemporary Dancer Kim Myungjun, Drama & Romance, Fluff and Angst, Hip Hop Dancer Park Jinwoo, Lyrical Dancer Lee Dongmin, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-07-20 10:16:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16135166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlighttrash/pseuds/starlighttrash
Summary: If you were to ask Moonbin 'what dance meant to him' about a year ago, he would have told you what every dancer may have said "It's a part of me." But if you were to ask him the same exact question now, well it would be just a little different.After getting accepted into Korea's number one dance academy, Moonbin is met with new and exciting challenges, some good and some terrifying, but there is definitely one thing that sticks out in his mind when looking back on the first day of class.Park Minhyuk.





	1. Breath Before The Jump

**Author's Note:**

> I have zero knowledge of Korean universities and dance in general so if I get something compleatly wrong, I'm sorry in advance :)

_Dance:_ _a series of movements that match the speed and rhythm of a piece of music._

This is the definition given to you if you were to look up the simple word, but we all know that deep down inside, it is  _ so _ much more than that. Dance is liquid-like movements, the swaying and rocking of randomized shore lines at dawn. Dance is like poetry being spoken through each and every simple twist of an ankle, or wrist, while a piano’s ivory keys twinkle along. Dance is like the hidden language of the soul; you don’t need words to conduct such emotion. You can express them fully with graceful and elegant, or heated and pointed, or bubbly and whimsical movements.

Nothing is ever as simple as the given definition.

●●

_ Spinning around. No, I’m turning, not spinning. _

_ Eyes set to one spot. _

_ Spot. Just keep my spot. _

_ Breathe and keep my spot. What count am I on again? _

_ Oh. Count four, now five, six, seven, eight. _

_ And again. _

“Good, Moonbin! That’s beautiful.  _ One _ , two, three,  _ four _ , five, six, seven, eight!” My instructor, Mrs. Lee, claps her aging hands along to the pointed beats of the recorded piano as I continue each turn, moving my arms swiftly in and out to aid my balance and momentum. “Now get ready for the jump out. Okay, one, two, three,  _ now. _ ”

I bring my bent supporting leg out into a perfect line and use my other leg to give myself the push off I need to send myself into the air for just a fleeting second- A second that gives my entire body chills, running deep and trickling through every inch, and cutting into my nerves.- before landing back down on one knee and posing into a solid form.

My breathing is extremely unstable from the back to back runs of the same dance and I can feel the rolling beads of sweat dripping into unwanted crevices, while the smell of the humid room fogs my swimming mind.

I hear Mrs. Lee clap a few more times. “Okay, that’s good for today.” I breath a long sigh and fall out of my knelt position, landing on the cold dance floor in a tired, starfish-looking heap. “So, you should be receiving the results from Seoul Arts anytime now, I presume?” She asks lightly from across the room where she is turning off the old sound equipment.

Expanding and stretching out my sweaty arms, I nod my head in earnest, remembering the prestigious school auditions that were held two months ago. “I hope so, I’m ready to get out of this tiny as hell town.”

She lets out a boisterous laugh and continues packing various papers and notebooks filled with dance routines and formations.

“A different view would be a nice change…” I whisper out, quiet enough for only my ears.

“I’m going to head out now, get some rest and ice your feet when you get home.” She walks towards the door. “Oh, and make sure to turn the lights off. Don’t forget this time! The electricity bill is already bad as it is!” She yells back at me, already down the hallway and out of view.

After a few beats of silence I lift my aching body from the floor to stand and walk over to my worn duffle bag. I reach down to take off my tattered ballet shoes, a pair that have definitely seen better days, and place the shoes inside the bag. My bruised and blistered feet are blooming with intricate blues and purples, and some older yellow and browns; the tones blend in with my naturally milky skin.

I let out a humorless laugh because the colors themselves, ironically, look beautiful, but hurt  _ so  _ damn much.

_ She’s right about soaking them in ice. _ I tenderly sink myself back down on the floor and give my feet a short message, in attempt to relieve some of the strained muscles and taut ligaments around my legs as well.

With one hand still gently clasped around my left foot, I begin digging in the duffel for my phone. Clicking the screen alive, I read the time;  _ 7:26 PM. _

“Shit, my bus!” I quickly yank on my gray sweatpants- that were strewn across my bag- over my tights and grab my hand-me-down sweater off the floor, pulling the scratchy fabric over my sweat-drenched forehead. I then toss my phone into the duffle and sprint towards the doorway, where my sneakers lay haphazardly.

After tying the laces together I bolt out of the studio and jog down the street towards the bus stop, tired and achy body be damned. I make it to the stop with the bus just down the road and with a sigh of relief, I place my hands on my knees and begin to even out my heavy breaths. I watch as my heated and scattered breaths turn to a cloud, similar to fog, due to the chilled September night weather.

The bus ride home is the same as always.

The night sky and stars are already out, allowing the street lights along the road and sidewalks to dimly light the used pathways. I listen to a mixture of classical pieces and some tranquil artists through my older brother’s headphones he got with his recently bought cellphone. He told me he’d never use them anyways and said  _ “since your current ones are pretty shitty”  _ I didn’t have the heart to tell him that these are probably just as bad, but beggars can’t be choosers. Plus, one of the plugs didn’t even work anymore on my previous pair, so I guess it’s not a bad trade.

●●

“Moonbin, you’re late.” Mom’s unimpressed voice is the first thing I am greeted with the moment I step through the front door, along with the intoxicating smell of freshly cooked dinner.

I place my duffel onto the hardwood flooring with a satisfying thunk and toe off my sneakers in the process. My parents, especially my mom, are never happy when I come home late, but what’s a guy supposed to do when he begs for an extra lesson… for the third time this week?

My cheeks puff out as I take in a deep breath and hold the air for just a second; trying to calm down my breathing. Once the warm air is released through my nose, I begin to walk into the small dining room where both my parents, my younger twin sisters, and my older brother and sister, are already sat at the table, food currently being plated and conversations already in mid swing.

The only empty seat is beside my brother, Hanjae, who immediately begins to watch my every move with a knowing look. I brush off the weird looks and sit down.

“Sorry for being late, I stayed for an extra lesson.” I give the excuse while picking up my metal chopsticks and tap them onto to the table, allowing them to reposition correctly. “Mrs. Lee was helping me with a new piece that I choreographed-”

“Mom! Please? The new episode is on!” Jisu, one of the twins, askes while attempting to stand from her seat.

“Jisu! Mina! Sit down and finish your dinner. You can watch your show after we eat.” I look back down at my metal chopsticks and think to myself,  _ typical _ .

“Sorry, what were you saying sweetie?” Mom asks exhaustively.

Without looking up I shake my head a little, raven bangs falling dangerously close to my eyes in a wavy mess. “Oh, um, nothing.”

I help myself to the food, placing a generous amount onto my waiting plate and my mouth waters at the mere thought of the savory dishes in front of me. I hear my father clear his throat and begin to start a conversation with my older sister.

“Sejun, how was work today?” He asks lightly.

“The stocks are charting, but...”

I continue to simultaneously stuff a bit of kimchi and rice in my mouth and ignore the boring topic that is my sister’s job. A financial writer.

Like I said, boring.

Though my brother’s job is not any more fascinating than hers. He is a nurse and is currently going back to college for more schooling, wanting to become a nurse practitioner. It may not sound as stodgy, but according to him, the hospital scene is not how it’s portrayed in the dramas that house wives and stay at home dads watch mid-day.

“Hey, you got a parcel in the mail today.” I look towards the older male with lifted eyebrows and suspicious eyes. He gives me a knowing smirk and lets out a sarcastic sigh while continuing to pile more food onto his plate. “Something from Seoul, but it’s probably nothing.”

I stop chewing. He then looks back up at me slowly. 

The sound of my clattering utensils and my chair scraping across the wooden flooring is loud enough for everyone to halt their conversations. Rumbling stomach long forgotten, my heart is currently racing and pounding hard as if I just finished three continuous run throughs of The Russian Dance from  _ The Nutcracker _ \- which I have done many times for the Christmas recital I’ve been in for 6 years now.

“Moonbin, honestly? At least wait until we’re done with dinner.” I continue to go back to the front door, where a small side table stands, holding all the mail and keys. “I swear, you’re just as bad as your sisters.” I hear Mom’s voice tiredly say, so I end up just making sure the parcel is what I think it is and then promptly head back to the dinner table, a wide and nervous smile now plastered on my face.

_ Seoul Arts Academy of Dance _ , is printed on the front, in a generic font with sleek black ink.

●●

“ _ Dear Moonbin, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Seoul Arts Academy of Dance, and will start as of September 25th, in the main coarse of Classical Ballet and an understudy of Lyrical. Inside the given package is your schedule, room key, borading details, and a list of needed supplies… _ ”

The letter continues on to inform me about the ever growing list of leotards, tights, and extremely specific dance shoes that I’ll have to spend most- if not all- of my money on. I’m just thankful for all the hours I picked up at the local supermarket.

I drop my arm heavily beside me, letter still in hand, as I lay staring up at the ceiling. My eyes slip shut, partially out of exhaustion and the other half from disbelief.

The chances of being accepted into the prestigious school is 1 in 1,000. That’s a 0.10% chance of being enrolled into the school of my dreams and  _ I made it _ . My academic grades aren't the best and I have a horrible eating and sleeping regimen, so my audition must have really struck a chord with them.

A tiny sigh escapes my lips and I roll over to place the letter down on my bedside table and turn off my lamp in the process.

That night I lay for what feels like hours thinking of just how and the world I managed to get into the damned school.

●●

“Okay, so you have your bus ticket?” Mom’s nervous voice cuts through the crisp night wind.

It’s been about three weeks since I received the miraculous letter from the the school of my dreams. Which leads me to the situation I’m currently facing right now.

My parents and I are all waiting at a bus station with a handful of other travelers, who are all spread out and waiting more patiently then my anxious parents. My brother and sisters would have come, but my bus ride is scheduled for around seven in the evening. The twins need to be in bed by that time and my older sister lives on the other side of town, working late shifts- she’s lucky enough to have dinner with us every so often- and finally my older brother is bestowed with the honor of taking care of the younger two in the absence of our parents. 

I turn back around, facing my mom and nod in affirmation to her previous question.

“The ride is going to be pretty long, about four and a half hours.” Her red lips purse in thought. “You might just want to sleep on the way there.” 

I let out a sigh and shrug my slipping duffle back up on my shoulder. 

“You’ll probably arrive around eleven-”

_ “Due to unexpected delays bus numbers 2193 and 2832 will be arriving late. Again, due to-” _

“Isn't that your bus number?” My dad’s quiet voice cuts through the chilled night air.

“Unfortunately.” I give him a tight smile. “You guys can go ahead and drive back home if you want. I know how tired you two are-”

“And miss our third-born going off and leaving for Seoul?” Mom attacks me with a tight hug and causes me to drop my duffle while pulling me down to half my height to reach her shorter stature  “I don’t think so!” 

I roll my eyes at the sudden embrace. “Mom okay, you’re suffocating me!”

It’s around eight by the time the bus is ready for departure and my parents make an even bigger fuss over our goodbyes. I promise the both of them that I will call as soon as I was inside my dorm room and give a final wave as I board.


	2. Head First

Once I’m off the bus I flag down a taxi driver from the station. The man is stoic and only asks for the address of where I’m wanting to go. I read out the name of the building in the dim light of the taxi and just like that the man types something into a GPS, then puts the car into drive.

The skylines can only be described as _ incredible. _

The lights come in different shapes and colors as they bounce off of the little droplets on the car’s window. I stare in awe the longer we drive, stopping for periods of time due to the heavy traffic, even at this time of night. The city itself is so alive, with people sitting in 24 hour cafes with papers splayed in front of them, to street vendors still selling freshly made tteokbokki to drunk passerbys. Men and women in businessuites walk in a hurried pace to make it to their desired destination in time, may it be to a restaurant for some coworker bonding time or maybe back home from a late shift.

My thoughts and wondering eyes are brought back to the inside of the taxi when I hear the end of something the driver muttered out.

“Sorry, what did you-”

“That’ll be 5,800 won.” The emotionless taxi driver says as he puts the car in park.

To say I’m surprised at the amount would be an  _ understatement _ . The bus station wasn't even that far, I just decided not to walk to the academy because I didn’t want to get lost in the busy Seoul streets.

“O-oh, um here.” I hand the exact amount to the driver and he promptly places the money into a compartment and then presses a button for the trunk of the car.

I quickly open the door and just as I get onto the curb the driver has already placed my luggage onto the sidewalk and away from the bustling streets. He then lets out a bland ‘ _ Have a nice night _ ’ and hurriedly jumps back into his vehicle.

I call out a  _ ‘thank you’ _ , but it only meets deaf ears as the driver is already pulling out into traffic when I get the chance to speak up.

You know that queasy feeling you get inside your stomach when you’re about to take a major exam or maybe go on your first date or perhaps you’re like me and are surrounded by big and new surroundings that overwhelm you to the very core?

The feeling is a little taboo for me.

Some might call me a liar, their argument being ‘ _ Well what about stage fright? Pre-dance jitters or the fear of failing. _ ’ Nope. Dance has never made me feel this way, in fact I’m probably the most calm and collected while I’m on stage, if not extremely excited.

But this is a whole new ball game.

With my luggage in one hand, a duffle bag in the other and a bag on my back, I make my way to the building with double glass doors and a grand sign reading ‘Student Dormitories’. I take mental note of my surroundings and the buildings near me, they’re all too foreign to me.

I let go of my luggage and pull it to my side and out of the way of passing strangers. I give one of the handles a rough pull and-

“Locked?” I try again, but this time with a push and the doors- again- won’t budge. “What the?” I look around the handle and notice the automatic lock and then it hits me. Why would they have these doors open to the public like that... Of course you have to be rung in or have a chip key chain to enter the building.

Looking back through the glass doors I stare helplessly at the interior which is, what looks to be, some type of office area with a service window, probably for a receptionist- who coincidentally isn’t there. On the other side is a large seating area, furnished with modern looking couches, coffee tables, and armchairs. A little further into the corridor I can make out a couple of doors, some closed and a few opened with lights streaming out. And the last thing that catches my attention is a nicely sized staircase, which is all completely empty of any people.

_ Amazing,  _ I think sarcastically to myself.

How can this place not have a single person walking around? I get that it’s just a little late, but the streets where I’m currently standing  _ and _ getting quite uncomfortable are just bustling with pure life.

I let out another tired sigh and lean my forehead on the, surprisingly clean, glass.

I’m just about to close my heavy eyes in defeat as a handful of boys around my age come out of one of the open doors from earlier. Two of them are laughing and flailing their arms in weird movements, while the third one looks like he could punch the both of them. I make a mental note to stay clear of that one in particular.

“Excuse me!” I quickly drop some of my bags onto the ground and begin to knock my knuckles onto the chilled glass repeatedly. I successfully catch their attention just as they’re all at the base of the stairs. The two shorter ones look at me with curiosity and the taller continues to walk up the staircase.

“Hey, you three! Can one of you open the door!” I make vague gestures to myself and then to the security system on the handles of the door, signaling them that I need help getting in. I watch with hopeful eyes as one of the shorter boys grabs the wrist of the unhappy camper and pulls him back to the base where he begins to converse with the latter. The taller then rolls his eyes and lets out what looks to be a sigh.

Alarms start going off in my head as the scariest of the three begins to walk towards me, looking more pissed than he did just seconds ago.

_ Remember what your brother told you. Just keep calm and be polite. _

I step back a little as one of the glass doors open up just enough for the stranger to stick half of his body outside. “Are you lost?”

Now that the stranger is in front of me, I’m able to get a better look at the boy. He’s just slightly taller than I am and he’s definitely slimmer, but you can tell by the t-shirt he’s currently sporting that he has lean muscles that have been built with hard training and disciplined diets. He has jet black hair that is wavy and parted slightly down the middle, you can tell that little to no effort has been put into styling the dark locks by how natural it looks. His face is probably his best feature though, it’s soft and sharp all at the same time, mixed with round and piercing, eyes.

In conclusion: he’s unfairly handsome.

“The night schools and tutoring buildings for  _ underdeveloped _ learning are four buildings down,-” He sticks his arm through the crack of the door to point lazily down one of the streets to the right of me. “-that way.”

I give him a tight smile and brush aside the comment. “Oh, I get it, you must think I don’t go here.” He then leans up against the door looking bored of the exchange.

“Funny. That’s  _ exactly _ what I thought.” He answers back lazily.

I clear my throat at the awkward atmosphere, the only thing that can be heard is the passing cars, faraway conversations, and the low hum of some nearby music. “Uhm, anyways, my bus left later than expected and since I’m all the way from Changwon, you know, it took a while-” I’m rudely cut off by the handsome stranger as he begins to close the door.

What the hell?!

“W-w-wait, hey listen, I have the letter saying I go here!” I roughly jam my body tightly in between the closing door. I’m now half inside the building, half hanging out into the streets of Seoul. The pissy stranger is not pushing too hard, but it's enough pressure to prevent me from completely opening the door.

“Dude!” He looks at me with bewilderment and I guess a bit of disgust.

“I seriously do go here!”

“Dongmin, let him pull out the letter at least.” The shortest of the three says calmly behind the stranger. Not really sure why he - or even the other guy - thinks this whole situation is normal. I’m literally squished halfway in between a door for a dance academy at around eleven thirty at night.

Hastily, I bring back one of my hands that was previously latching onto the door frame and stuff it inside my backpack that sits beside my feet. I bring back the correct piece of paper I had gotten with my acceptance package along with my ID.

“See!” I shove the unfolded letter into the strangers face and watch as his eyes sweep across the words in surprise. “And look, here's my ID with my name and picture.”

A sigh and then, “Dongmin, let the kid in!” comes from the inside.

_ ‘Dongmin’  _ rolls his eyes and pushes the glass door all the way open and I turn to quickly grab my rolly suitcase and duffel, along with my unzipped backpack. Surprisingly, the latter holds the door open as I enter the warm building. “Welcome to hell.” He sarcastically whispers.

_ Wow this guy is a piece of work.  _ I bitingly think. You would assume, with a face like his, that he would be just a  _ little _ bit nicer or maybe a bit more inviting somehow.

Continuing into the building I make my way over to the two shorter boys and by closer inspection, they both surprisingly look older, not by much, but enough to know that the two have a few years on me.

The shortest of the three has a sharp jawline and a strong build, probably built by countinusas practices’ and hard work, like most students here. He also has a caring vibe basically  _ floating _ off of him. His hair is a mousy brown- clearly dyed, and is quite messy.

The one that is just  _ slightly  _ taller than the other could basically be described in one word,  _ bright _ . He also has bleached and dyed hair, resulting in honey colored locks, which is surprisingly styled into freeform waves; at least one of them cares about their looks. He also has a curvy, yet lean build.

“So, you must be a first year. I’m Park Jinwoo,” The brunette begins to speak. “this is Kim Myungjun, we’re both third years, and you’ve already met prince charming himself, Lee Dongmin, he’s a second year.” He cheerfully concludes.

I give a slight bow, which is rendering to be difficult due to the bag in my hands and on my back, but it seems that the three don’t mind. “I’m Moonbin, nice to meet all of you.”

“Do you have your dorm key and number?” Jinwoo asks while slinging his arm around Myungjun in a laid back manner. “It should have came in the mail.” My eyes just barely notice the blonde lean into the touch. “If you don’t I can go look for Leo, he usually runs the desk over there for night shifts.”

“No, no, no, I have my key! Although I wish he would have been there to let me inside.” I pull the keychain that holds a chip and an actual key, out from my bag and squint down at the fine print. “Hmm, room 245 in hall C.” I look back up towards the three expectedly.

“We’ll take you there!” Myungjun says happily while gesturing to follow and just like that he and Jinwoo head towards the staircase. Following behind them closely, we only make it about five steps forward until a whiney voice cuts us off.

“Guys, I have been up since five this morning!” Dongmin protest with his arms crossed. “I don’t want to go…and I still need to foam roll my achilles before I go to bed.” I raise my eyebrows at his bitterness, but a pang of guilt also strikes my gut at the comment about his achilles.

When someone mentions  _ anything _ about foam rolling their achilles it usually means they somehow messed the tendon up and I can’t even begin to imagine the type of pain this guy deals with - bitter attitude be damned.

“You’re going, unless you don’t want the ice cream I had bought?” With his arm still loosely around the shorter, Jinwoo calmly bribes the raven haired man-child. “MJ and I can eat the whole thing by ourselves, anyways.” Said boy nods his head, agreeing wholeheartedly.

One long sigh and then, “Whatever, I’ll go.”

●●

“So what are you in?” Jinwoo speaks up as we continue towards the dorm area with the latter and Myungjun leading the way with Dongmin and I walking three steps behind.

The whole place is pretty modern in terms of decoration and technology, - similar to how the lobby area looked - something I am definitely not used to. On our way through hall A we pass up multiple rooms and seating areas. Some of the little plates above or beside the doors read  _ Practice Room A3  _ or _ Gym A7 _ and we even pass up a room that reads _ Study Room A9 _ . I can’t believe this building is just for housing.

“In?” I ask back, confused by the sudden question, too distracted by my new surroundings.

“Like Hip Hop, Jazz, etcetera?”  _ Oh, dance. _ “you look like you can do some pretty sick B-boying.” He glances over his shoulder and lifts a questioning eyebrow.

I shyly laugh at the assumption. “Oh, no. Actually, I’m in Ballet as my main course and Lyrical as my understudy.”

“Hm, you don’t strike me as the Ballet type, if we’re being honest, but hey! You can’t judge a book by it’s cover!” Funny, that seems to be a recurring theme tonight.

“Dongmin’s also in Lyrical, but you won’t see him much, because he’ll be in the second year classes.” Myungjun adds in. I’m not  _ too  _ surprised that the salty dancer takes lyrical, actually I can already tell that he probably has it for his main course.

“What do you guys take?” I ask out of general curiosity as we make our way up to the next floor and down hall B.

“I take Hip Hop for my main course and understudy Modern.” Jinwoo answers with pride. The courses suit him perfectly.

“Contemporary for main and then Jazz.” Myungjun begins. “Although I was going to take ballet when I first started at the academy, but I changed my mind last minuet and decided to go for contemporary. Thank god they let me redo my audition, said I had something special about me.” He adds in the extra information and I nod my head eagerly along, wanting to know more details, but he doesn't say anything more of the situation.

“Lyrical and contemporary.” I hear Dongmin quietly say from beside me.  _ I knew it. _

“So you three are all friends?” I muse outloud to no one in particular.

“Yep. Well, no.” Myungjun begins happily and then hesitantly ends with a bashful look.

Beside me Dongmin lets out a hushed chuckle. “Those two are dating, how you didn’t notice is beyond me, but yes I’m friends with them.” I eye the trio with a surprised face. Skinship amongst dancers is completely normal so I didn’t think twice about the two earlier. I have nothing against the two, in fact I'm similar to them considering I'm bisexual, but none of them need to know that.

“Are you- you know, gay to?” I don't mean to ask the ticking time bomb that is the boy beside me, but the question slips out just as quick. I'm about to reason with him about how I didn't mean to ask when-

“Yes and no you’re not my type.” Dongmin doesn't even look at me, deciding to keep his face set forward, as if the question didn't even bother the older.

I stop mid step and watch the three continue forward. My eyes burn holes in the back of the tallers head, at the snide remark. “I wasn't going to ask that...asshole.” I let out a silent curse and stride back towards to trio.

We make are way up two different flights of stairs and corridors in comfortable silence before we stop in front of room 245.

“Alrighty, here’s your room!” Myungjun practically beams. Beside him Jinwoo brings a finger to his own lips and stage whispers out a chaste ‘ _ Babe, people are sleeping’. _

The shorter of the three turns to me with a laid back smile. “You can meet us tomorrow morning at 6, down in the lobby. We’re going to show another first year around before classes start, if you want to tag along that's fine.”

My tired eyes become saucers at his kindness. “Oh really?” Two of the three boys nod their heads in ernest. “Yeah, that’ll be awesome, thank you Jinwoo.”

The brunette smiles warmly and removes an arm around his partner to hold his hand instead. “No problem, night Moonbin.” All three begin to turn, waving lazily as a half-assed farewell - which is completely understandable for this time of night. I give my own little wave and enter inside my dorm.

Once the lights flicker on I first notice the sliding glass doors leading to the balcony, looking out towards the sleepless city. Next is the twin sized bed companied with a clean mattress, and situated in one corner of the room. A desk sits right across, accustomed with a wooden chair that looks like it came as part of a set. Above the desk is a reasonably sized cork board with a handful of multi colored push pins that are still tacked on. There’s also a tiny bathroom containing a standing shower, a toilet, towel rack, sink and one of those mirror/medicine cabinet combos. And beside me stands an even smaller dresser, but I’ve already come to the conclusion that I’m completely in love with the place.

When I turn around to toe off my sneakers at the door I jump back in surprise at the full length mirror hung onto the door.

“I’m too tired for this.”

Once I’m changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, I haphazardly place my bed sheets on and toss a pillow onto the growing pile of blankets. Before I close my eyes for the night, I give my parents a call, only to let them know I’ve made it to my destination and a quick goodnight also slips out, cutting the conversation short so I can get some sort of sleep tonight.

●●

I run just a  _ tad  _ late the next morning.

I end up sleeping in a little later than I was planning to and also forget my duffle bag in the room, which contains my ballet shoes, a sweat towel, water bottle, a few snacks, and basically everything and anything that was to help me survive through the day. So I  _ had  _ to run back and grab the damned thing.

The black sweatpants that cover my dancing tights threaten to slip off my hips as I run toward the main lobby completely out of breath, having just jogged down three corridors and four flights of stairs. Why the _ hell _ would anyone place the stairway for each floor on opposite ends? 

Whoever designed this building definitely has a special place in hell designated just for them.

Rounding the corner of the lobby, I notice Myungjun and Jinwoo occupying a love seat while Dongmin opts to lean his weight on one of the two the armrests. All three are immersed in what looks to be Jinwoo telling a very compelling story, but once I’m in earshot he quiets and all eyes are on me.

I begin to spill apologies in between breaths, while tightening my drawstrings around my hips and suddenly realize how just as unkempt the trio looks as well.

Jinwoo is sporting a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top draped over with a jacket, basically screaming  _ comfort _ . Myungjun on the other hand is dressed as if he’s ready to go to bed, wearing a pair of jogging sweatpants and a blue fitted tee that left little to the imagination of his pectorals. Lastly, Dongmin is, deadass, clothed in black tights that reach his shin and a white hoodie that reads ‘ _ sunshine _ ’ in red letters.

“Nice hoodie.” I conceal my laugh with sarcasm while the taller lazily gives me the middle finger and begins to scroll through his phone.

“Don’t worry dude, you’re on time. We're just gonna wait for the other first year and then we can head off.” Myungjun chirps out, which leads me to wonder how the hell he can be so bright at this time in the morning.

“MJ, where did you say you met him again?” Dongmin huffs, tone bored. “If he’s already late, why don’t we just leave him…” He then looks towards me. “I mean, Moonbeam is already here, so there’s really no point in waiting for the other kid.” The taller scuffs his worn converses on the polished tile.

“It’s Moonbin.” I mumble, unimpressed by the petty jab.

“Dongmin, it’s only 6:03, cut the kid some slack~” Myungjun basically coos toward latter’s sour attitude, probably out of spite. He then pauses and lifts his hand under his chin, thinking. “Well, he was pretty ditzy, I mean the kid’s major is in Acrobatics and you  _ know  _ how those people are…”

After about four minutes of people watching I hear rapid stomping coming from down the hall, down where I saw the three boys emerge from last night.

Suddenly, a tall and lanky boy halts to a stop once he notices the four of us sat in the lobby. He then leans forward, placing his hands onto his knees. He’s sporting a pink hoodie and tights that reach the top of his knees, leaving me to believe that this must be the other first year, who’s taking acro.

“Sorry...for...being...late!” The boy says in between puffs of breath. He drops his own navy colored duffle, basically a copy and paste of the one sitting in front Dongmin’s feet, the only differing factor of the two being the cluster of keychains dangling from the younger’s bag. “I got stuck in the elevator.” He states after a final deep breath.

“Wait, we have an elevator?!” I can’t believe I just used all those stairs and last night when I had my suitcase I had to lug it up  _ so many flights _ !

No one answers, me instead we all watch as Myungjun’s face lights up while standing to greet the newcomer.

“Guys, this is Yoon Sanha. Sanha this is Moonbin, he’s also a freshman and in lyrical!” I give the other boy a small wave, which he returns shyly. “This is Park Jinwoo, my boyfriend.” Sanha nods his head slightly and blush begins to pepper his round cheeks, I’m unable to decide if it’s from the running he just accomplished or maybe the bold statement coming from Myungjun. “And this  _ chipper guy _ is, Lee Dongmin!” I look between the two and notice the younger produce  _ even more _ blush, ears and neck completely pink.

Trust me on this one Sanha, Dongmin may be unfairly handsome, but his personality is about as appealing as a puddle of mud on a hot day. Don’t believe his hoodie!

“He’s also in lyrical.” I watch as Sanha’s adam's apple bobs, up and down, and remind myself to warn the younger about the second year student later.

“Okay! Now that we’re all introduced, how ‘bout we start with the tour?” Jinwoo announces while clapping his hands once together.

This will be one interesting morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always welcomed ^^ Next chapter will be up soon! Thank you for the Kudos~~~


	3. Meeting Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moonbin's first day of class and the most memorable.
> 
> ~*THIS CHAPTER HAS NOT BEEN EDITED*~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are definitions for the dance positions I mention in this chapter ~~  
> *Pointe- a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes.  
> *Plies- a dancer bends the knees and straightens them again.  
> *Fondu Developpe- I can't really write it out so here's a video~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbYJCeiJDJE  
> *Barre- a stationary handrail that provides support for people during various types of exercise.  
> *Degage- pointing of the foot to an open position with an arched instep slightly off the floor.  
> *Ron de Jambe- I can't really write it out so here's a video~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGbzmvWpjnI  
> *Pas De Deux- a dance for two people, typically a man and a woman.

Once out of the dorms it’s a five minute walk to campus, we make our way in and out of each building while Jinwoo gives a brief statement of what classes and other activities that are usually held inside. Every once and a while Myungjun corrects the shorter and Dongmin sometimes ends up correcting the  _ both  _ of them, but stays quiet for most of the makeshift tour.

In between walking to the next destination I get to talking with the tall acro student. I find out that Sanha’s actually a year younger than me; claiming that he skipped a grade and was able to apply to the school based on his recommendation letters from some fancy private dance academy he attended in his hometown.

Which first lead me to believe that Sanha was just another stuck up rich kid, but turns out the guy is  _ so  _ very painfully shy and awkward when it comes to new people. I also find out that the boy is  _ loaded _ , but it wasn’t too surprising since he told me about his schooling situation.

“Are you both taking your freestyle class this year?” Jinwoo questions once we’ve made it into the building that apparently holds the costume and shoe department.

Everyone attending the school has to eventually take one semester of freestyle- _ when _ they take it is completely up to the student. In the class it helps others shine in particular dances that you are not taking credit classes for. Bassically to show off other talents that wouldn’t be useful to your core classes.

In other terms, it’s a blow off class.

Sanha nods his head eagerly, locks bouncing with the movement. “Yeah, I thought I should just get it out of the way.” I silently agree with a nod of my own. “Did you three take it already?” He questions quietly while pointing towards the the trio.

Myungjun’s face lights up like a christmas tree, hearing the question. “Yes! But-” He pulls himself away from his partner- much to the latters dismay, according to the noticeable pout- and claps a hand onto Dongmin’s shoulder, eye’s saying ‘ _ we know something you don’t know _ ’. “Dongmin here failed it last year, so he has to retake it.” The blonde chokes on a laugh once he’s called out the taller.

My eyes become saucers and I notice Sanha’s are the same, if not even more so.

“Stop telling people I failed.” Dongmin grits out with eerie calmness.

“Well, didn't you  _ technically  _ fail?” Jinwoo timidly questions while patting his boyfriends shaking back- the latter still choking through oncoming laughs.

The taller lets out a tired sigh and runs a hand through raven locks, seemingly becoming more frustrated with the turn of conversation. “Getting kicked out of the class doesn't count as failing-”

“ _ You got kicked out _ ?!” Sanha screeches in disbelief.

I wait for the exploding words to fall from Dongmin’s mouth, but they never come, instead he just quietly adds a  _ ‘Yeah’  _ and moves his hands to the inside of his hoodie pocket.

The youngest nods his head in understanding and gives the cold hearted dancer a look of sympathy. “What’d you do?”

Myungjun doesn’t give Dongmin the chance to answer and lightly adds. “He kicked his dance partner in the shin for showing up late to their graded performance.” Jinwoo throws a hurried arm over the blonde’s shoulders and ushers him away from the second year, most likely afraid of the backlash.

My lips curl into a smirk. “So technically you got kicked out  _ and _ you failed?” I slyly ask, pushing my chances.

He rolls his eyes and continues walking. “Just shut up, both of you.”

Sanha hikes his duffle up from where it’s slipping down his shoulder and strides to walk beside Dongmin, leaving me at the back of the walking group. “You kicked them in the shin?” He asks lightly. “How does doing that get you kicked out exactly?”

“I had my tap shoes on when I kicked him-”

This whole story finally hits me like a ton of bricks and I completely lose it.

“What th- hahaha!” my laughing is as subtle as Myungjun’s wheezing at this point, but my cares have been thrown out the window to the dancer’s disbelief

“-and I ended up fracturing the bone.” Dongmin continues even though his only true listener is the strange acro kid.

In between laughs I continue. “I’m not sure if I should be laughing at the fact that you decided to do your freestyle final tapping or the fact that you know how to tap!” I picture the entire scene in my head and understand why Myungjun finds the situation as hilarious as he does. “Oh my god! I can’t breath!”

My laugh continues on full force until a hard palm connects to the back of my shaking head. “Ow!” I rub the tender spot while making a pout towards a straight faced Dongmin.

“Told you to shut the fu-”

“Okay children, calm down.” Jinwoo hurriedly cuts in between Dongmin and I before the situation worsens and proceeds to steer the conversation about the next building we’re currently entering.

●●

After we’ve toured the whole campus, Dongmin leves first, claiming he needed to ‘ _ warm up _ ’ for his class, while Jinwoo and Myungjun continue to walk both Sanha and I to our first classes of the day, before heading to their own of course.

“Okay, here's Acro A1.” Jinwoo annonces once the four of us are stood in front of a large room that could be easily mistaken for a gymnasium.

“I already feel like we’re sending off our child!” Hopping on the balls of his feet and gripping onto Jinwoo tightly, Myungjun wistfully annonces to the corridor. Passerbys give him weird glances and I duck my head away from the embarrassing older, but he doesn’t seem the least bit bothered.

“Aww, you like me that much?!” The younger folds his hands and brings them close to his chest in a touched manner, eyes brimming with hopefulness.

Myungjun’s smile changes to one of fondness and he nods his head. “Of course!”

“D-does this mean I can have lunch with you guys today? I-I don’t really have any friends here…”

Lunch. I didn't really think about that; It would be nice to not have to eat by myself.

“Sure!” Jinwoo announces happily and quickly turns his attention towards me. “You wanna join as well, Moonbin?”

“Oh, um, yes.” I stutter helplessly at the sudden question. “Although, I don’t think Dongmin really takes a liking to me, he probably won’t like that very much.” I think of the older boy with a grain of salt, remembering all the nasty glances and muttered comments. I just don’t know how to read him yet.

Beside me, Myungjun snickers and places a gentle hand on my clothed shoulder. “Oh don’t worry about him. Dongmin’s all bark and no bite, he’ll warm up eventually!”

“Yeah, he’s like that to literally everyone, trust me.” Jinwoo finish encouragingly and I nod in understanding.

Some people just need a little more time and I hope that’s the case with this one- for now I’ll have to trust his close friends.

“I don’t think he’s too bad… It’s kind of charming…” Sanha ponders aloud and I quickly question the younger’s taste.

“Of course you do, you’re a ball of sunshine, now get to class!” Myungjun lightly pushes the younger, towards the open room. “People are already starting to warm up!” He then calls after him, for good measure, and smiles in content once Sanha has ran all the way inside.

I watch the lanky boy through the wide observation windows and take notice of how his personality does a complete one-eighty from just a few seconds ago. He’s closing himself back up. 

“You’ve already adopted him, haven’t you?” Jinwoo asks his lover quietly, as if my ears were to not hear the question.

“Yep. He’s going to need it… Sanha is too pure for the cold world that this dance academy has in store for him. They’ll eat that boy alive.” Myungjun, since the first time I’ve met him, has now shown his age through the words spoken. The atmosphere suddenly becomes one of uneasiness and I clear my throat to remind the couple that I’m still here.

“You’re room is two doors down to the right.” Jinwoo answers in a quick manner. “You should go on ahead and warm up. Thirty minutes early is considered ‘ _ on time _ ’ for the Ballet Department.” He gives me a tight smile and I begin to walk.

“We’ll all meet back at the meal hall!” Myungjun’s naturally loud voice carries down the hall and I nod my head in understanding before giving a final wave to the pair as I enter my first class.

●●

I’ve shed the sweats and t-shirt, and I’m now on the floor clad in my black tights, ballet flats, and a white leotard. I begin tedious task of stretching out my legs and back while keeping my eyes on the wooden flooring and away from basically everybody else; I just  _ know  _ I’ll start to psych myself out if I see anyone doing some kind of bizarre pretzel stretch.

My ears pick up scattered conversations about diets and availability of certain practice rooms, but I do my best to tune out the useless chatter.

Clapping hands brings me out of my current thoughts. “Okay, okay, okay” I look towards the authoritative voice and watch as a tall man with a strong build and a clipboard in hand, walks into the studio.

“My name is Han Jungwook and I will be your instructor for the male ballet students and your instructor for the warm up period.” Mr. Han walks around the spacious room and moves in front of the wall of mirrors. I take this moment to finish rotating my right foot and stand up, the rest of the class has also paused their stretches and are now all facing the instructor.

“I’m going to call out everyone's name for attendance and then I will let you know who your partners are for this year. Remember, your partners have been preselected for you based on your audition, whether it was sent in or recorded at the live auditions, both have been evaluated.” He continues speaking while making eye contact with as many students as possible.

“The head of the auditioning department and many others have specifically placed each of you together; to strengthen your  _ weakness  _ all the way down to your  _ agility _ . Being paired up is more than just being able to lift or trust the other, it’s about a true partnership and this is something you’ll have to grow to learn in this upcoming year.” He finishes with a hopeful lift in tone “Now, let's get started. Bae Seojun-”

I space out once the instructor begins roll call and I focus on observing the class. Most are huddled in their own little cliques and only a handful are by themselves, probably just like me. Alone. I could always saunter up and introduce myself to a group or a lone soul, in an attempt to become friends, but not one person in here seems to be even remotely approachable. In fact, everyone seems dead set on one goal.

Success.

Yes, they are bunched up in their little groups for now, but you can see the eagerness and thirst in their eyes and fidgeting feet; simply craving to be on the stage in front of thousands and thousands of people.

_ That’s why we’re all here, right? _

“Moonbin?”

I lift my hand and say  _ ‘here’  _ to make sure the instructor’s attention lands on me. The older man gives me a once over and continues on with calling out the list. It’s not much longer until he switches his papers and carries on to the partnering sheet.

I wait in anticipation.

Minutes pass and the room is practically all paired up- aside from a few girls and boys who have been abandoned by their groups- and are now scattered around the studio, deciding to interact and greet their new partners for the year.

As the list dwindles down I become more and more confused at something I didn’t even notice until now. The number of  boys and girls in this class are  _ uneven _ .

“I want all of you to take this time to introduce yourselves to your partners and get to know one another a little better.” My eyes widen when I realize what's going on. “Moonbin and Park Minhyuk, come over here please.” The lone boy and I walk to where the teacher is in the middle of the studio. I pass up all the wondering eyes with my own confused pair.

“Your partners are actually no longer in the program.” Mr. Han begins quietly as if he is avoiding any unwanted attention that could be drawn towards the conversation.

The boy beside me mumbles out a ‘ _ what? _ ’ while I opt to scrunch my eyebrows in confusion.

“Moonbin, due to an accident causing her achilles to snap, your partner is unable to participate. As for you Mr. Park, your partner actually dropped out.” The two of us stay silent, too shocked by the information.

Mr. Han lowers his tone even further and sets his face into an understanding mold. “Since this all happened on such short notice; The board told me to bypass your grading for this particular situation and grade you on individual studies instead, like maybe a solo to replace a duet.  _ Or  _ the other option they have presented to the both of you is, to pair up.”

Two boys pairing up? How-

“This is only possible due to the fact that during the physical, the board had decided that Minhyuk’s ankles seem to be quite weak for a male ballet dancer and Moonbin has very little pas de deux experience. So the two of you can use this opportunity to your advantages.” The instructor quickly explains.

“Both of you would be graded along with the class until the second year and you, Minhyuk, can strengthen those ankles of yours and Moonbin, you can get the practice you need.” He finishes in a chirpier tone then when he had started.

I look over to the other boy, curious as to what he thinks over the whole situation, because honestly it doesn’t seem  _ too  _ bad of an idea to me.

My eyes take a good look at the other student for the first time and wow.

The boy, Minhyuk, has a strong jaw, light brown eyes that have a sort of fire lit into his irises, and hair that’s a wavy brown, similar to Jinwoo’s. He’s average height, although definitely shorter then I am, with toned and defined arms crossed over his narrow chest. My eyes rake down his legs and holy shit, his thighs could probably crush my skull.

In conclusion, he’s quite breathtaking. A different kind of attractiveness from Dongmin; The taller being an untouchable beauty, where as Minhyuk is the exotic type that can definitely be touched, but there’ll be consequences.

A scoff from the shorter interrupts my, not so appropriate, thoughts. “Absolutely not.”

“We can  _ totally  _ partner together, you’re pretty small anyways!” Realizing what I had just said and I quickly correct myself, silently hoping the smaller dancer doesn't get offended.

“W-well not _ small _ , but I’m pretty sure I can lift you- uh… I mean pairing up wouldn't be difficult.” I mumble out the last part, but it’s too late, the quiet mummers of the other students that once was heard in the background, has stopped and is now replaced by laughter.

I look around and notice how mostly everyone is either bewildered or amused by my suggestion. The instructor though looks completely surprised and Minhyuk looks not only embarrassed, but also ready to murder me; Arms now by his sides and fists so tight his knuckles have become paperwhite, compared to his deeper skin tone.

“What makes you think  _ I _ wanna partner with you, Gandalf?!”

“ _ Gandalf _ ?” Isn't that the tall dude from  _ Lord of the Rings _ ?

Mr. Han brings up his empty hand between Minhyuk and I. “Boys, both of you need to calm down, this is just a suggestion amongst the board. You don’t  _ have  _ to partner up.” His voices calmly.

“We  _ will  _ partner up.” I push further, because I need to improve on pas de deux, whether it’s with a boy or a girl.

“No we  _ won’t _ !” The shorter grits out, stepping closer into my space.

I lift up my brows in challenge “What, you don’t know how to do pointe or something?”

“Of course I know how to do  _ pointe _ ! I just don’t see the reason why I have to partner up with you!” Minhyuk stares back at me with so much hostility that I begin to second guess my original thoughts about his looks.

This guy is way too hard headed.

To be fair, most boys don’t really have a background or any knowledge of pointe, so his answer throws me  _ completely  _ off guard.

The only reason I even know how to do it is because my dance teacher back home made me, saying ‘ _ It might come in handy one day!’ _ . Well it definitely won’t be coming in handy this time around because I’m almost positive Minhyuk will be the one wearing the pointe shoes, unless he wants the job of hoisting me up in the air, and I highly doubt he can do such a task- given our height differences and builds of course.

“Enough! I expect a direct answer from the both of you by the end of class.” Mr. Han says with absolute authority and in return I shrink back from Minhyuk while the latter turns around with heated footsteps and walks away.

“Now, everyone to the barre! I want to see the most  _ breathtaking  _ plies!”

I huff out a sigh and grudgingly help the other students set the barres into position. “Once warm up is over, girls please head to the room over to start your lesson with Mrs. Choi.”

Mr. Han’s instructions go in one ear and out the other.

Great.

●●

“Sehyoon, your supporting leg is about as  _ straight  _ as Elton John.” The instructors booming voice corrects a boy somewhere near the back of the class and I mentally shiver.

It’s hard to focus.

My warm up at the barre is sloppy and that’s putting it nicely. My  plies are shaky compared to the  _ machine  _ of a girl, who’s in front of me, bending his supporting leg at ungodly angles and heights when we eventually switch over to fondue developpe.

But my eyes keep moving to a certain boy named Minhyuk.

He and I aren't positioned at the same  barre , instead he’s one barre to the left of mine, giving me the perfect view for observation.

The shorter is precise and sharp, almost  _ perfect _ , but the words  _ ‘weak ankles’ _ scream in my head. Mr. Han wasn't lying when he stated the short comment. Minhyuk wavers every now and then, albeit only briefly; Dropping too early or swaying out of formation, it all shows and I hate that I feel bad for the shorter.

I mentally sigh at the thought of pairing up with him, the option doesn't even seem plausible towards Minhyuk. There’s  _ gotta  _ be a way to convince him before class is over. Maybe I can talk to him during transition when the girls are switching classes-

“Moonbin, was it?” I refocus my wandering gaze back to the girl in front of me, trying to seem like I wasn’t  _ just  _ spacing out. “You’re struggling at a barre exercise.” I almost falter my movements at his words. “At least control your bent feet for christ sake.” My knuckles are white where my hand grips the barre and I quickly correct my obvious error, previously pointed out. I then push all and any thoughts of Minhyuk out of my mind.

_ Remember why you’re here. _

I may have been a one in a thousand in my hometown but here- here I’m just like everyone else, there are no, top students or head honchos, everyone at this school are on equal playing grounds.

We all have different end games, dreams, goals; this school will give us the credentials and the push to do amazing things if we complete our training. Hundreds of doors will automatically open and then it’s ultimately up to us what we so wish to do with these opportunities.

Most who finish will be picked up by ballet companies, others will be offered jobs at academies, few will go off to create their own studio, and a handful will become choreographers.

But first we all must go through the blood, sweat, and tears of training. The acceptance rate is thin, while the graduation rate is even smaller, but those who stay focused and determined can most likely pull through it all.

“Why does this look like a  _ baby ballet _ class?!” The middle aged man stands at the front of the studio, arms crossed over his built chest in jugement. “You shouldn’t even be breaking a sweat.”

That’s bold of him to say, but then again he’s just spewing random insults- not really aimed to anyone specific- to make us work just a little harder then we normally would.

“Beautiful  degage , Junhee.” He compliments a boy from the front and moves on to another row. “Next is  ron de jambe .” After a few beats the piano switches tempo, continuing on to another move.

Mr. Han walks slowly down my row and I stay focused on my feet, legs, back, arms-  _ everything _ , not wanting to be scolded again. The older man then turns his head from side to side, evaluating each dancer in passing, with trained and precise eyes. “Better, Moonbin.”

I mentally breath a sigh of relief.

He comments about a girls arm posture when the music’s tempo suddenly speeds up; piano keys twinkling along. “Moving on to  grand battements .”

On the eighth count, I and everyone around me change to the last move.

My right leg swings effortlessly out and back in again, reaching the height of my lower chest and back down into first position at a quick pace. Forwards, side, backwards. Up and down.

It isn't long until I begin to feel the all too familiar burn in my upper thighs as I start to reach my limit, while sweat slowly drips down my temples and the back of my neck.

“ _ Slowly _ now. Remember, the cool down is important. Work through the pain now so you won’t have to later on.” His voice has changed to one of a calmer tone as we reach the end of our warm up.

“Alright, thank you everyone! Boys grab some water and clear the barres, get ready for technique. Ladies please head over next door for you technical class. Remember  pa de deux  practice is on  _ Tuesdays  _ and  _ Fridays _ .”

Multiple sighs of relief sound off throughout the room and I myself let out a quiet breath of relief.

I notice a couple of boys have already began to move the barres, so I opt to relax over by my duffle where I had tossed the bag earlier. The girls take their own belongings and head out the doors and I watch as a certain boy walks carefully towards me.

Here goes nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY MOLY ASTRO'S COMEBACK! <3 I listened to the whole album and it's just simply amazing *Cries tears of joy* Hope all of you liked and enjoyed the comback~
> 
> Thank you all for reading<3 comments and suggestions are always welcomed! Please let me know what you think of the story so far!!
> 
> Here are definitions for the dance positions I mention in this chapter ~~  
> *Pointe- a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes.  
> *Plies- a dancer bends the knees and straightens them again.  
> *Fondu Developpe- I can't really write it out so here's a video~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbYJCeiJDJE  
> *Barre- a stationary handrail that provides support for people during various types of exercise.  
> *Degage- pointing of the foot to an open position with an arched instep slightly off the floor.  
> *Ron de Jambe- I can't really write it out so here's a video~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGbzmvWpjnI  
> *Pas De Deux- a dance for two people, typically a man and a woman.


	4. Night Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All they need is a little practice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ballet terms used in this chapter~  
> *Grand Jete- a big jump where the dancer throws one leg into the air, pushes off the floor with the other, jumping into the air and landing again on the first leg.

I quickly avert my eyes towards the floor the moment I notice Minhyuk walking towards me.

Red flags pop up as I think about all the possible outcomes this oncoming conversation could have. Will he reject the offer given to us? Will he accept? Will he just ignore me?

“Fine.”

My chaotic thoughts halt once the shorter is stood in front of me. I scrunch my face in confusion at his words.

“Pardon?”

“I said, fine… I’ll partner up.” I stare at the other boy carefully as he places himself beside me and opens up his water bottle, taking long gulps before looking back at me expectedly.

To say this is unexpected, would be the understatement of the century.

I stare at boy in suspicion.

“What uh- what made you change your mind?” My voice wavers even though I’m trying to make light of the sudden decision. I also begin to nervously wring out my trembling hands and Minhyuk may or may not have just glanced down at the anxious movement.

_ Why the hell am I so nervous?! _

Minhyuk places his bottle down, to instead lean back onto his hands, seemingly more relaxed than I.

“There’s no way you would survive next years evaluations with little to no knowledge of pas de deux.”

My eyes practically bulge out of my head when I realize the undertone of what he was meaning with that statement.

“Y-your doing this out of pity?!” The volume of my voice causes other male students to turn their heads and I watch as Minhyuk's facade drops slightly at the unwanted attention, but quickly schools his face once more.

“Should I just say no instead?” Minhyuk stage whispers, challengingly.

“ _ No _ , but your morels are pretty twisted, dude. What about your ankles?” I point an accusing finger towards the boy’s said body part.

“I can just exercise them on my down time. I don’t need a partner to do that.”

He shrugs off my disbelief and due to the sudden movement, beads of sweat began to dangerously roll down the back of his neck and into his black leotard- my eyes track the movement, much to my dismay.

I shake the sudden thoughts out of my head and try to focus on the matter at hand. “I guess I should say thank you.” My voice is small.

“No need. Just be in practice room C2, tonight at six.”

“Of course!” I pause in thought to fully grasp his sudden negotiation. “Uh… Why?”

The brunette raises an eyebrow at me, judgment slapped across his features. “To practice, duh.” Minhyuk then shakes his head slightly while pulling out a towel from his duffle and beginning to clean the sweat from around his face, neck, and arms- seemingly done with our current conversation.

“No I mean, like, we’re already practicing during class so what’s the point of-”

He huffs in annoyance and fixes me with a hard stare. “Moonbin. We are two  _ men  _ partnering up for  _ pointe _ .” Minhyuk sits up a little bit straighter and faces his body fully towards me, making sure I have his attention. “I don’t know about you, but I’ve never done that before, so I’d really appreciate it if we can- I don’t know- get  _ some  _ sort of practice in or at least get familiar with the concept, before showing up to class again tomorrow and looking like a couple of idiots.”

I strategically ignore the snickers coming from a group of boys who are sat near Minhyuk and I- most likely overhearing our conversation.

“Yeah, t-that makes sense.” I'm floored by his response, but he's not wrong.

Minhyuk sighs quietly before throwing his, now dirtied, towel back into his dance bag.

“And no need to bring pointe shoes… I’ll wear them.” Now  _ that  _ catches my attention. “I won’t be able to lift you anyway, so…” The dancer's voice fades off completely, previous confidence completely gone. The notion was practically a given- when you compare or body sizes, but I can tell the statement was hard for him to admit.

“Of course!” I try to lift the mood, but my efforts go to waste when Minhyuk stands and walks to the floor, already prepared for technical.

“Okay. Alright. That went better than expected.” I mumble out reassuringly to myself before I take one last swig from my water bottle and make my way back to the floor.

We both stay after class to tell Mr. Han about our agreement and to my complete surprise, he seemed quite delighted.

After exchanging numbers, I give minhyuk a parting wave and a quick ‘ _ see you tonight _ ’ which he returns with a hand over his shoulder, but I don’t think much of the chic response because I’m  _ still  _ giddy from the sudden acceptance of my new partner.

However, as I travel one level down to my next class, I begin to lose the giddy-ness and in return gain wandering thoughts about the mysterious boy. But once I step inside the studio labeled ‘ _Lyrical B1’_ I have come an embarrassing conclusion. The conclusion that Park Minhyuk is like a rose.

Beautiful and painful to the touch, but also delicate and fragile at the seams.

●●

I'm stretching and changing into my (stupidly expensive) shoes, that I had to buy  _ specifically  _ for this course, when Sanha throws his duffel heavily beside my own- keychains jingle and chime by the force.

“I think I'm in love.” The younger announces softly.

I jerk my head up in surprise.

“ _ What?” _

“I'm in love!” The lanky boy flops into the ground with a wistful sigh, and I stare dumbfounded at Sanha’s announcement and quietly wander how in the _ two hours _ , since I've last seen him, has he somehow ‘ _ fallen in love _ ’.

I rake my eyes slowly up and down the boy once before concentrating back on my stretching. “I'm uh, not gonna ask.”

Sanha lets out tiny whine and begins to change into his required shoes. “Oh, come on! You don't wanna know why?!” He looks at me through his lashes and I crack slightly at the younger’s innocent face.

I give the younger a pointed look and then let out an exasperated sigh. “Maybe after class, Sahna-”

“So I was passing by a practice room, like two floors down-” He quickly begins to explain, but I cut him of in utter confusion.

“What were you doing  _ two _ floors down?” Him and I had our first class on the  _ same  _ floor so what was he doing down there?! My face is probably scrunched up in more bewilderment then my voice leads on.

Sanha quickly averts my distortion. “Not the point,  _ anyways _ , I saw Dongmin dancing- and holy moly, this guy is  _ so  _ incredibly talented!”

“So you’re in love with…?”

“With his  _ techniques _ ! You should have seen his  grand jete .”

His techniques? Right… this kid is just being over dramatic- and here I thought he was talking about being, head over heels, drop dead, in love with the older!

“Yeah, I’m sure it was amazing-”

“Better than amazing!” Sanha reassures me with a confident nod and a serious face. I merely let out a sigh of defeat and grin at the youngers innocence.

The two of us continue to warm up and stretch, making light conversation about certain dance moves and Sanha occasionally brings Dongmin back up then eventually Jinwoo and Myungjun. The sound of mild conversations rake over the room, most students having earbuds in make the room seem less strict and more laid back. Although once the teacher arrives, we all quiet down and settle into a randomized formation.

She’s a shorter, middle-aged, woman with kind eyes and a welcoming smile. Her hair is styled into neat waves, but you can tell just by the way she walks that she  _ screams  _ professional.

“Hello everyone!” Her gaze rakes around the room with practiced ease. “My name is Kim Miso and I’ll be your instructor for Lyrical B1. I’m sure all of you have stretched and are already warmed up.” A collection of  _ ‘yes’s  _ sound off across the room. “Today we will take it slowly and become familiar with the routines I have preselected for each of you.”

Sanha and I share a look and the younger shrugs his shoulders before the both of us face back towards our teacher curiously.

“Of course I have selected these routines based on your portfolios and auditions. If there are any questions about the choreography please see me before starting practice, I’ll be happy to answer.”

We take attendance and she passes out the specific routines to each of us, mentioning that we are to perform the given dance on friday- like a sort of test.

●●

“ _ Stay _ by Z-zedd?” My nervous voice cuts through the abundance of chatter.

With a paper that has my assigned routine typed out, I sit amongst Sahna, Myungjun, and Jinwoo in the noisy meal hall- trying to wrap my head around the teacher's choice. “All of these moves are-”

“More acro! What the heck!?” The acro major himself, has his head practically laid on top of my broad shoulder, trying to read the paper placed between my hands. “Mine is an Ed Sheeran song called  _ Tenerife Sea _ …” He practically whines out while sitting heavily back into his seat with a huff. “It’s more ballet than anything else!” The younger tosses his hands in parcel frustration.

Across from the acro dancer, Myungjun let's out a low cackle while his lover gives Sanha a look of pity. “I thought the point of Lyrical was to have a  _ mixture  _ of dance genres, not a heavily based routine?”

“The point is to challenge yourselves.” The second-year's voice responds seemingly disinterested.

Dongmin sets his metal lunch tray, consisting of a small salad and a single wheat roll, down onto the table along with a shaker bottle full of what I assume is a mix of protein powder and water. My eyes look down at my own lunch; A hefty serving of rice, slices of marinated meat, some vegetables, and a cream bread that I impulsively bought at a vending machine on the way to the meal hall.

Dancers need fuel to do what we do and I mentally question why his meal is so light for a hard working guy like him. No one else seems to acknowledge his choice of eating decisions so I drop the wandering thoughts completely.

“I had Mrs. Kim last year and she  _ always  _ gives you the opposite of what you major in. She enjoys her students pain, don’t be fooled by her smile and kind eyes.” Dongmin explains with a hit of challenge in his tone.

“Sounds like someone I know.” I whisper out and stare directly towards the older, but he just shrugs a shoulder and begins to eats his miniscule lunch instead of humouring me any further.

“Hey, do you think you can help me? L-like a night practice or something!” Sanha hesitantly asks the cold dancer, his hands wringing themselves out nervously under the table.

“Sure.”

The table promptly erupts into a frenzy.

“You didn’t even hesitate?!” Myungjun chokes on some water he was drinking and almost stands up from his seat in surprise.

“That’s weird.” Jinwoo eyes the second-year suspiciously. “Normally you’d prioritize  _ your own _ practice time.”

“Yeah! You’ve never even  _ given  _ dance lessons before.” This time Myungjun does stand from his seat and leans both hands onto the lunch table, almost like his about to hold an investigation.

Dongmin pays the both of them no-mind and simply continues to pick apart his wheat roll in minor interest. “It’s the beginning of the semester and I don’t have too much on my plate.” He then pops a piece of the bread into his mouth and looks up towards the couple- who are staring at him like he’s grown a third eye.

I’m honestly just sitting back and enjoying the show while Sanha seems too oblivious to even know what’s going on, the poor angel.

“You don’t have t-too much on your plate?!” Myungjun has now sat back down with the help of his boyfriend’s hand guiding him to his seat, the two still in disbelief. “You have  _ two  _ solos in your major-OW!”

I completely dismiss the fact that Dongmin just kicked the blonde in the shin and focus on finishing up my own lunch.

“Wow! That’s so nice of you, thanks!” Sanha pipes up in excitement.

●●

Once our extended break for lunch is over the three of us part ways from Jinwoo and Myungjun, heading to our last class of the day; Freestyle.

The walk to class is relatively quiet, save for Sanha’s constant questions towards the second-year.

I spot Minhyuk the second we walk into the room, he’s stretching in a corner and unsurprisingly keeping to himself, but I instantly opt out of bothering him and continue to walk over to where Sanha has dropped down his duffle- next to Dongmin’s twin bag. Of course this doesn’t prevent me from taking occasional glances towards the mysterious boy.

Class goes by smoothly, starting out with introductions with the teacher- Mr. Cha. He’s tall with a sharp build, dark hair, and honey skin. He is definitely younger than my two previous instructors and I voice as much. Dongmin later informs me that he had actually graduated from here only five years ago and was even offered a spot in a  _ ballet company _ , but had turned them down, deciding to teach instead.

We continue class with a dance battle of sorts. No one is technically forced to go inside the impromptu circle and dance, but Mr. Cha had informed us to ‘ _ Show me what you got _ ’

Many who decide to go in have a sort of flow that can only be described as open and infinite. A lot who go in are also hip hop or modern majors, but I’m still shocked once no one other then Minhyuk himself energetically steps into the circle.

He starts off by feeling the beat of the music, bobbing his head and moving his arms in wayward motions, and then he begins to dance.

I watch on in awe, as the crowd cheers him on, the entire atmosphere becoming less challenging and cutthroat, to more fun and exciting.

Bringing my hands to cup around my mouth, I cheer on just like the rest of the class as Minhyuk continues to move freely, but with purpose. That’s also the moment I come to my second conclusion about the boy.

He is breathtaking.

After everyone has had a turn inside the circle, Mr. Cha promptly dismiss class for the day and letting everyone know that we will have an actual class starting tomorrow.

Each student steadily heads to their respective bags and head out the dance studio’s doors and I make it about six steps from leaving the room before Sanha stops me so we can walk together. “Do you know him?” His voice is casual, but you can tell by the shine in his eye that he’s looking for a certain answer.

“Huh- Who?” My steps only slightly falter once the two of us walk out the double doors.

“That guy you kept staring at-” He brings his lanky arm up to point ahead of us and my eyes move towards the general direction, only to realize Minhyuk’s receding figure is who the younger is talking about. “-do you know him.”

I chew the inside of my cheek.

“Uhm… kinda?” Sanha opens his mouth to press further, but I do not even let him speak because I already have my hand up in the air waving towards the shorter boy infront of us. “Hey, Minhyuk!” The latter turns around mid step.

I hear Sanha make a sound of realization behind me and clapping his hands together, which I pay no-mind to. “Ah-hah! So you  _ do _ know him-” Instead of amusing him any further I opt to jog over to where Minhyuk has stopped in the hallway, waiting and watching the scene unfold with an unreadable expression.

“Moonbin! Wait for me!” Sanha calls out and I turn back to let him know that he can go on ahead, but I silence once I notice Dongmin walking up behind the younger and tapping his narrow shoulder. He then jerks his head in the opposite direction as an invitation to walk with him, I’m assuming. “Uh nevermind, I’ll just see you around, Moonbin!”

I thought as much.

“You want to walk to the dorms together?” I ask the shorter once I make it to where he had waited.

Minhyuk looks towards Saha and Dongmin’s disappearing down at the other end of the corridor. “I think your friend wanted to walk with you.” He says almost as if he’s a little disappointed.

Jerking my thumb over my shoulder I look at Minhyuk in question. “Oh Sanha? He’ll be alright. He likes Dongmin better anyways.” I lightly add in to ease the suspicion.

“Dongmin?”

“The guy he’s walking with.”

Minhyuk nods his head a few times before continuing forward.

No one speaks until I break the silence once we have stepped outside into the chill October weather. “You’re really good at hip hop!” I casually start. “I didn’t really expect that from you. Where did you learn all of that?”

I watch as Minhyuk lets a tiny grin slip onto his face and I silently ponder what his full smile looks like. “I have Hip Hop as my understudy, so I  _ better  _ be somewhat amazing at it.” He adds lightly and I kind short circuit a little because he seems different- like he’s almost in a sense, comfortable. “My old dance school didn’t have any teachers for the course, so I’m actually self-taught…” He adds shyly.

“What?!” I stop walking and turn to him instead. “That’s amazing!” Minhyuk looks at me only mildly startled, but quickly schools himself and quietly adds a ‘ _ thank you  _ ’ His shyness hits me like a bus and I immediately feel bad about this morning, realising he was probably just embarrassed about the situation. “Uhm, I’m actually sorry about earlier…”

“Sorry about what?” Minhyuk asks while looking straight ahead, dorm building coming into sight. 

“This morning when I uh- called you short and when I kinda got all in your space.” Red heat begins to spread across my face as I mumble out the embarrassing apology. “I’m sorry.” For once I wish it was just a bit colder outside so I could blame it for my rosy cheeks.

“I wasn’t really in the best of moods this morning… so I didn’t act like how I normally would, I’m also kinda sorry.”

I began to feel comfortable with the shorter and desire to test my luck. “ _ Kinda _ ?” I give him a sly smirk and he just about freezes on the spot.

Minhyuk scoffs once and then “Nevermind then, I take it back.” He brushes by me and walks into the building once the desk receptionist buzzes us inside, leaving me behind while continuing to walk up the stairs.

Quickly I jog to catch up with Minhyuk. “Wait! I’m grateful!” I let out a laugh at my own desperate attempts to be in the brunettes good graces, but I almost trip over my own feet when I hear the boy next to me beginning to laugh as well.

My eyes almost watch on in awe when the shorter continues to let smaller chuckles to slip out once his fit of laughter slows down. He looks back to notice me staring, but I couldn't care less that he had caught me because he’s looking at me in such a way that can be described as almost fond.

“You’re so strange Moonbin, you know that?” He shakes his head a couple of times, a tiny smile gracing his sharp features, and reaches for the handle of a dorm. “This is my room, so I’ll text you when I’m headed to the practise room.” I nod my head, not quite trusting my voice. “See you tonight.” He gives me one last bidding wave before stepping inside the room once unlocked.

I don't even so much as blink until I hear the doors lock  _ click _ , my heart is beating so hard inside my of chest I’m surprised I even heard the tiny sound.

I am  _ so  _ fucked.

●●

“So...how do you want to start this?”

Minhyuk and I are in one of the dorm’s many practice rooms, it’s smaller than the actual studios used for class but there’s just enough space for basic training.

I’m stood in the center of the room while the brunette hooks his phone up to the sound system in the back corner. He makes a humming sound and looks over his shoulder curiously.

“Well, have you had  _ any  _ pas de deux training?” His arched eyebrow leads me to believe that Minhyuk isn’t in the joking mood and it’s time to be professional, so I keep my answer short and to the point.

“Only the basics…” I scratch the back of my neck in embarrassment. “My home town is super small and there was never anyone for me to partner up with who were also at the same dancing level.” I watch a Minhyuk nods his head in understanding and presses play on his phone screen. Soft piano music begins to play and the two of us star to stretch. I mentally take note of how trained Minhyuk must be to even  _ walk  _ properly in pointe shoes.

“I see, hmm. Let's just start with simple warm up lifts and spins, then we can go from there.” I look over towards him in agreement and catch him lifting himself onto the point shoes. His face twists only slightly before schooling back to his normal expression. A pang of guilt hits only slightly.

He agreed to do this. He didn’t have to do this. He would let you know if he’s uncomfortable. He’s okay-

“I don’t think we’ll do anything more advance for tomorrow's class anyways.” Minhyuk cuts through my spirling thoughts with his airy tone. If he was in  _ any  _ pain he’s hiding all too well.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” He answers confidently.

Soon after the both of us have stretched, we move to the very center of the room and face the long mirrors. The shorter places himself in front of me and that’s the moment my heart begins to act up once again, just like it had back at the dorms.

“Now place your hands...uhm.” He move his arms behind himself to take hold of my wrists and I pray to  _ any  _ gods out there that he can’t feel the rapid beating. “Here…” Ever so carefully, Minhyuk places my hands around his smaller waist and I just about die on the spot.

I mentally smack myself upside the head because I have to stay  _ professional _ . There’s no time to be acting like this, we are here to practice, not to feel like a middle schooler having their first dance with a crush-

wait...Crush? Do I have a  _ crush _ ?

The brunette clears his throat, pulling me out of my thoughts just to realize my hands are slightly shaking. “Look, if you’re uncomfortable we can just tell-”

“No I-I’m fine...” I catch the shorter’s gaze in the mirror and he takes a long look at me before continuing.

“Okay then, j-just hold my waist.” That’s when I realize, Minhyuk is just as nervous as I am. He takes a breath and nods his head. “On the first beat, bring me up and then back down on beat three. I’ll do the rest of the work, just hold me  _ tight _ , okay?” He catches my gaze once more and I notice the absolute trust he is putting into this.

“Okay.” I breath out

We begin with simple lifts, like the shorter said we would. The lifeting is the easy part, but what I didn’t expect was keeping balance. I have to not only make sure Minhyuk is secure between my hands, I also have to balance the two of us as the same time. I can understand why he was so nervous now.

The two of us repeat the lifts one after another for what feels like an eternity, but after awhile Minhyuk seems satisfied enough to move on to the next move.

Grand Jete .

Basically, Minhyuk will run and leap into a type air split, while I have to catch him and make a sort of dip with the two of us. Believe it or not, this one of the more  _ simpler  _ moves.

We practice the move a few times in slow movements and with out Minhyuk doing the jump. I have the both of us in the dipped position when I notice his hands that are raised above his his head are trembling like crazy. I bring the two of us back up carefully before letting go and looking at the brunette with a concerned gaze. “You’re shaking…”

“I’m fine.” He quickly answers and ignores my gaze completely. “You need to put the same amount of pressure on both sides so I can balance properly.” I nod my head a few times at his correction. “Alright, let's go for real this time.” I nod once more and take a breath.

Minhyuk carefully walks to the other side of the practice room and I get into my position. We wait for the piano to loop back around and I’m becoming more nervous with each passing beat.

He trusts you.

I watch with carefulness and minhyuk takes three running steps before jumping into the air and It’s at that point that I realized I missed my step forward.

Everything happens in slow motion from there.

My panicked hands just barely graze Minhyuk’s midsection and then the shorter hits the floor with a hiss of pain.

He trusted you.

You let him  _ fall _ !

“ _ I’m so sorry! _ ” I quickly snap out of my inner thoughts, getting down onto my knees where Minhyuk makes a twisted face and takes my offered hand. I pull the both of us up, still in a panicked state. “I d-didn’t mean to drop you-  _ shit _ , uh…” My words pause on my tongue as I watch the younger shake his head and walk back to the other side of the room.

“Again.”

I look at him in concern. “What? Are you sure?” My voice is so small that I’m surprised he can hear me over the music.

“Yes, I’m sure and it wasn’t all your fault. I didn’t jump far enough for you to properly get a tight grip on me.” He finally looks at me and my body begins to move on its own accord until I’m stood in front of the smaller boy.

I take one of his hands into mine, with my heart practically  _ pounding  _ out of my chest, and squeeze his fingers with so much certainty. “I’ve got you this time.”

Minhyuk nods and I let go of his hand and begin to step back into my spot, him and I never breaking eye contact.

We wait for the song to loop and then Minhyuk takes three running steps, while is take my own two. He then jumps into the air split and this time I’m ready.

I catch him and carefully bring the two of us into the dip, almost flawlessly.

I choke out a surprised laugh and Minhyuk stares up at me with the widest of smiles. My heart swoons once more from the sight. Without thinking I bring him into an excited hug and he responds with lightly looping his arms around me.

“That was awesome!”

Minhyuk pulls back just enough for us to look at eachother and we both erupt into breathless laughter. “We did pretty good, huh?” He voices aloud, but my mind quickly realizes that I have Minhyuk in my arms and the other has his own arms looped around me and we are  _ definitely  _ a little too close. Minhyuk notices my fading smile and quickly lets go, much to my dismay. “We should probably wrap this up…”

And just like that the moment is gone.

My eyes watch as the brunette walks over to the sound equipment to unplug his phone and turn off the sound system. I reluctantly walk over to my bag, placing the strap over my shoulder, and walking to the door.

“Oh. Yeah I'll uhm- see you tomorrow morning.” There’s just the tiniest bit of hopefulness in my voice and I know he can hear it.

“Good night, Moonbin.” He looks over his shoulder and gives me one last parting smile, almost like a promise of some sorts.

“Good night.”

●●

Practice the next morning goes smoothly, Minhyuk was right about us only going over the basics of pa de deux in class. The teacher seemed impressed by our teamwork for just becoming partners. The other students only gave us a few glances near the beginning of class, but seemingly lost interest after the first few runs of the same lifts and spins.

But something was off…

Minhyuk had seemed  _ out of it _ and that lead me to become conscious for the entirety of class. Even with all of my anxiety and nerves I kept my grip and professionalism at its best, not wanting to harm our practice or my partner, but it was as if Minhyuk was on a completely different planet the entire time.

Once class had ended he left without saying a single word or so much as glance my way, leaving me confused and a little worried. It was as if last night had meant  _ nothing  _ and our friendship? Partnership? Something more? Had taken two steps forward and three steps back.

Later on after all of my classes have ended, Jinwoo invited me back to his dorm to play some video games and so that's where I am now- in the hip hop dancer’s tidy dorm room, filled with pictures of him and his boyfriend, lots of medals, and a Nintendo Switch.

We play a handful of rounds and talk about a few things in passing like, Myungjun’s Iron Man collection or Dongmin’s need to come into Jinwoo and Myungjun’s dorms to clean every three days.

Although, my mind keeps bringing me back to last night when Minhyuk had looked at me with so much emotion and intensity that something  _ changed  _ right then and there, but why was he so distant in class?

Was it something I did?

“Do you know anyone by the name of Park Minhyuk?” My voice is solemn as I question while also placing the controller back down in front of me.

Jinwoo sighs for the third time that night, having lost a couple rounds in  _ Mario Cart _ before my sudden question. “Do you know how many  _ Minhyuk's  _ there are at this school?”

Point taken.

“He has Hip Hop as his understudy, so I thought you might know him.” I fiddle with a hangnail on my thumb while I wait for the older to respond. Jinwoo looks up in thought and ponders for a few beats before making a sound of realization.

“We have two in our first year department, but if I'm thinking of the same one as you- does he take Ballet as his major?” He claps his hands together once and excitedly points a finger at me in question.

“Yes.”

The third-year nods his head. “Yeah, I talked to him once yesterday- keeps to himself.” Jinwoo looks towards me in mild interest while also placing his controller down. “What about him?

“I'm actually paired up for our pa de deux course with him…” I test the waters a bit and nervously scratch the nape of my neck where the short hairs of my undercut reside.

Jinwoo’s eyes widen slightly and my cheeks redden at the shorters surprise. “Not to sound like a dumbass or anything, but uh-” The older clears his throat a bit before continuing. “Isn’t pa de deux supposed to be with a male and female… not two males?” He quickly tries the correct the situation by putting up his hands in defence. “I-I mean don’t get me wrong or anything- I’m dating  _ Myungjun  _ for christ sake, but you know what I mean.”

I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding when I realize that he’s just genuinely confused.

“Basically, both of our partners are no longer part of the academy and because their absences happened so suddenly, the school offered us two options, one was to be graded separately during evaluations and the other was to partner up.”

“I’m still not understanding. Boys aren't even supposed to know how to do pointe, that shit hurts the more you weigh!”

“Actually, both Minhyuk and I know how to dance in pointe shoes…” I let out a strained laugh.

“So I’m assuming he’s wearing them? It’s just that you’re so much taller than he is.”

“Yeah… he is.” I nod my head and look back down at my hands while I wait for the older’s response.

“Well I would say, just get to know him better and build your trust. That’s all you can do, oh and training after hours seems to be a safe option, because by the looks of it you two will most likely need more time to adjust to the situation.” I nod my head in understanding.

I am about to ask about what I should do with the strange atmosphere between Minhyuk and I, but I’m silenced by Jinwoo’s boisterous laugh.

“What’s so funny?” My eyes catch sight of Jinwoo clutching his cell and typing away with haste.

“Oh uh-” He laughs once more. “-Myungjun just sent me this picture of Dongmin. Look!” The ‘ _ funny picture _ ’ of the second-year, turns out to be a candid shot of the boy mid-sneeze. I have to admit, it’s quite a relief that even he can look ugly sometimes.

Jinwoo takes his phone back and continues to text the older with a look of absolut fondness stamped unapologetically onto his face.

“How did you meet him?”

“Who?” He looks at me kindly. “Myungjun or Dongmin?”

“Myungjun.” My voice is light with curiosity, the topic of Minhyuk's confusing behavior forgotten and now focused on the two third-years. “The both of you seem so… In love.” The atmosphere turns into something more calm and warm.

Jinwoo nods his head in reply while placing his phone down and looking across the room where a particularly aged photo of the two is framed and sat on top of the blondes nightstand. “We actually met around four years ago at a dance competition- of course he was doing ballet at the time and I was competing in hip hop.”

He looks back at me with a warm smile as he continues to recall the memory. “I was going to the designated waiting room with my dance school and I-” The older snickers before continuing. “-I ran right into him. He was on the floor messing with his shoes and I was too busy talking to one of my friends and  _ BOOM _ ! I fell right on top of him!” I let my own smile take over as I imagine the scene in my head.

“He was  _ a lot _ meaner back then too, yelling at me and pushing me off.” Jinwoo’s voice becomes softer. “I was just super stunned because I’ve never seen someone as beautiful as him before…

“We met again on the move in day for the academy and back then they actually had four people to a room, like two bunks in each dorm.” Jinwoo makes shakes his head. “We had been roommates- sounds  _ cheesy  _ I know, but anyways he remembered our incident from the competition and immediately had a vendetta out for me!”

A laugh slips through my lips at his distorted tone.

He quickly schools his face to that of a smirk. “I found it enduring. So I pursued him and we got to know eachother better. Turns out he was crushing on me from day one! A couple months into first year we started going on dates and eventually became boyfriends.” He looks up in thought. “It’s too bad the academy had gotten rid of the roommate policy.”

“How about Dongmin?”

“Ah, Dongmin…” Jinwoo’s expression changes from one of fondness to a more fatherly appearance. “That’s a tricky story to tell.” He adds softly.

I tilt my head curiously. “How so?”

Jinwoo looks slightly troubled, but continues on anyways. “Well it was only the second week into the new semester last year, so Dongmin’s  _ first  _ year at the academy, and he tore a few muscles in his left achilles.” My eyes widen. “If you’ve never had your achilles fucked up before, it basically feels like someone is constantly stabbing your ankle with a rusty kitchen knife everytime you dance or even  _ walk _ .”

My thoughts roam to the night I had arrived and Dongmin had said in passing about having to foam roll his achilles. Things begin to click into place, just slightly.

“Myungjun was assigned to help Dongmin, by our dorm manager at the time, to help him carry his bags to class or assist him up the stairs since the elevator here  _ constantly  _ goes out.” The older pauses and looks down into his lap in mild shame.

“And I got jealous.”

My eyebrows scrunch up in bewilderment. “Of Dongmin?”

“Have you  _ seen  _ the guy?! He looks like a Greek God and I look-” He lets out a humorless laugh. “-Well  _ not  _ like a Greek God…”

“Aw come on, you’re not too bad!”

The older looks at me with so much blandness that I can’t help but to snicker at his reaction. “... _ Thanks _ . Anyways, to make a long story short, I confronted my boyfriend about it and he basically looked at me like I was  _ the  _ dumbest bitch in the entire universe. I still had the tiniest bits of doubt left though, so I eventually talked to Dongmin and the rest is history.” Jinwoo smiles confidently.

“We basically took him under our wings. The guy was  _ way  _ more closed off than he is now…” His smile falters a little before continuing. “According to Myungjun, Dongmin’s home life isn’t the best and we just felt like he needed some friends.”

“That explains his attitude…” I let out the half-ass comment, not meaning really anything by it, but saying it more out of reflex at this point.

“Hey! He’ll eventually warm up, it just takes him some time.” Jinwoo explains, his voice becoming a softer tone.

I do, however, become curious of his previous statement. “You said he’s had a ‘bad home life’ what do you mean?”

The blonde chews the inside of his cheek and thinks over his words carefully before answering. “That’s a story for another time, plus Myungjun can probably explain it better than I can, since he’s the one Dongmin talked to about it.”

I nod my head in understanding. I guess some things just aren't as they seem.

The rest of my night is spent back in my own dorm, wandering what Dongmin’s full story is, and what is going on with Minhyuk. I decide to shoot the brunette a quick text before heading to bed, hoping I didn’t screw anything up.

**Moonbin (10:49 PM)**

_ hey _

_ hope everything is alright! You were just kinda out of it today :( Hope you feel better _

_ see you in class Thursday _

_ goodnight _

**Minhyuk (10:52 PM)**

_ -read- _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ballet terms used in this chapter~  
> *Grand Jete- a big jump where the dancer throws one leg into the air, pushes off the floor with the other, jumping into the air and landing again on the first leg.
> 
> A/N: Hello eveyone! Sorry for for posting so late OTL I'm back with a massive update as an appology UWU Hope you guys are ready for the next chapter because things are about to go DOWN! Comments and like are ALWAYS welcomed <3


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